iQure Pharma Awarded Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to Advance EAAT2 Program in Parkinson's Disease

PRINCETON, N.J., June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- iQure Pharma, a clinical-stage biotech company developing first-in-class astrocyte-targeted therapies designed to restore glutamate balance in CNS disorders, today announced it has been awarded a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) to further investigate the role of EAAT2 modulation with iQ-007 in Parkinson's disease.

The grant was awarded through MJFF's Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program, which supports preclinical and translational research aimed at evaluating promising therapeutic approaches for Parkinson's disease.

The grant will support studies designed to demonstrate a correlation between the management of extracellular glutamate levels and the functional effects of an EAAT2 modulator in Parkinson's disease models. The work will include studies across multiple disease-relevant preclinical models to investigate how iQ-007 may influence disease-related pathways associated with Parkinson's disease. Based on these results, the aim is to identify a clinical biomarker to determine which patients may benefit from this treatment.

The grant program will be coordinated by Henk de Wilde as Principal Investigator, in collaboration with Associate Professor Laura Civiero and with support from the team at Atuka Inc., a renowned CRO in the field of preclinical models for Parkinson's disease.

"The Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program is designed to support the evaluation of promising therapeutic approaches grounded in Parkinson's disease biology," said Jessica Tome Garcia, Lead Scientific Program Manager, Translational Research at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "EAAT2 modulation represents an emerging area of interest in Parkinson's research, and studies like this aim to generate translational data that may help inform future therapeutic development."

Associate Professor Laura Civiero at the University of Padova is a co-investigator on the MJFF-supported program. Prof. Civiero brings internationally recognized expertise in the protective role of the astroglial system in the brain, with a particular focus on LRRK2 biology in Parkinson's disease progression. Beyond the MJFF-supported work, iQure's collaboration with Prof. Civiero is focused on further elucidating iQ-007's mechanism of action and strengthening iQure's EAAT2-centered mechanistic foundation in neurodegeneration.

Dysfunction of glutamate uptake has been widely documented across neurodegenerative and chronic brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and migraine. EAAT2 is the main transporter responsible for glutamate clearance in the brain. By enhancing its function, iQure aims to restore synaptic balance and interrupt the cycle of excitotoxicity that drives neuronal damage across these and other CNS conditions.

"This grant enables us to further establish the mechanistic link between extracellular glutamate regulation and functional outcomes in Parkinson's disease," said Pawel Zolnierczyk, Chief Executive Officer of iQure Pharma. "Our lead asset, iQ-007, is the first clinical-stage EAAT2 modulator. Through this work, we continue to build the scientific foundation positioning EAAT2 modulation as a therapeutic approach across multiple CNS disorders."

About iQ-007

iQ-007 is a first-in-class, orally available small molecule designed to enhance EAAT2 activity. iQ-007 was developed by Prof. Krzysztof Kaminski at the research-intensive Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. The compound is advancing in clinical development and is the first clinical candidate of iQure's astrocyte-centered approach, initially developed for treatment-resistant epilepsy. Beyond epilepsy, iQure is expanding EAAT2 modulation into Parkinson's disease through MJFF-supported research and is advancing additional preclinical work in multiple indications, including ALS and migraine, where EAAT2-dependent functional rescue supports mechanistic relevance.

About iQure Pharma

iQure is a clinical-stage biotech company advancing a new therapeutic approach for CNS disorders by restoring glutamate homeostasis.

Our science targets one of the core functions of astrocytes: the regulation of glutamate uptake, essential for maintaining synaptic balance and protecting neurons from overstimulation. By enhancing the function of the main transporter involved in this process, we break the cycle of excitotoxicity, a feedback loop that drives neuronal damage and disease progression across a broad range of CNS conditions.

For more information, visit www.iqurepharma.com.

Media Contact

Clara Assouline
Business Development, iQure Pharma
[email protected]
www.iqurepharma.com

SOURCE iQure Pharma Inc.